Triforce of Wisdom
by platinummantis
Summary: Every little girl dreams of being a princess. Why wouldn't they? Let's go over the perks of me being born into nobility. Pretty dresses? Check. Loyal, hardworking servants? Check. Being acquitted with the task of having to aid the resurrected hero of time in his treacherous and bloody mission to defeat the formidable Ganondorf before he sends us all to hell? Well... Check?
1. Prologue

Hey everyone! I'm going to skip the introduction for now, I mean, don't you all just want to read? More about me at the end. :)

-Prologue-

The sun was a glowing a bright gold, warmly contrasting with the sullen blue of the sky. I was leaning against a wooden fence, clad in a white dress. The air smelled nice, and I decided to go for a walk through the path that lay around me.

I was on a floating island in the sky, although if I had to describe it I could only use the word "paradise". This didn't feel weird though, I felt more at home than I ever had before.

I didn't question anything.

I followed a quiet stream down until it led into a small pond. I head the nice buzz of insects and the chirps of birds, and I sat down at the edge of the pond.

Leaning over the pond, I saw the reflection of my face. I didn't look normal. It _looked_ like me, but something about the glow of my face or the warmness of my eyes and hair was off. My hair wasn't the same as I usually keep it, it was all out behind my head, gently flowing in the wind.

I stared at my face for a long time. My mind was clear, and I couldn't remember anything that had happened before.

I tried going over my past life experiences in my mind. I was a princess, for one of the biggest countries in the world. My name was Zelda, but, how did I get here? I decided to not think about it then, since the atmosphere was so calm. I looked back to the pond.  
I noticed something odd about my reflection. It had started to fade away, which would've startled me, but it happened so gradually that I wasn't very much phased, if at all.

"I sure hope you know what you are doing here," A sweet, feminine voice sang behind me. I smiled and turned around. The lady standing there looked reminiscent of me, but was much taller and prettier. She had the same face I had seen in the pond. It was weird. She looked matured, but she could be anywhere from twenty to forty. She had a slight accent, nothing too noticeable, but a lot more than I had.

I slowly shook my head. I kept thinking that I should be scared, seeing as I had just met my look-alike and how she had confronted me, but all I could feel was wonder.

"Do I know you?" I asked, racking my brain even though I knew it wasn't much use.

The lady laughed warmly, and held out her hand. "My name is Hylia. I'm sure you know of me, but I definitely know of you. Come here, I need to show you something."

I grasped her hand, feeling a mysteriously familiar touch as she led me along a path through the woods. I watched her dress wisp in the slight breeze, glimmering in the sunrays that shone through the gaps in the leaves of the trees above. It was the same dress as I had on, making me feel even more connected to her.

"If you are concerned, Zelda, your memories are safe with me. I simply, _borrowed_ them, as it would be easier to explain everything without them. I will give them back after." She called over her shoulder to me.

"Thank you." I replied. "Where are we?"

"This place has many different names, but for now you can just refer to it as my home. This is where I live, kind-of." She winked at me.

I squinted my eyes. "What do you mean?"

She laughed again. "You're awful bubbly without your memories, princess. I liked you better before, but don't worry. Here we are."

She stopped in front of a large fountain, seemingly run-down, yet looked as inviting as ever. I didn't question why there was a fountain in the middle of the forest, because honestly, I had given up questioning things at this point.

Hylia stretched and sat down. "Pretty, isn't it? This is one of my favorite places." She said with a smile. She turned to me. "You should have a seat, we have a lot to talk about."

I did as she said, and rested on a stump. I watched a few birds flutter over the trees above me, cocking my head to the side.

"I'm the goddess Hylia. A long time ago, after I fought evil with the humans and finally got rid of it entirely, I came up here to rest. This place was created for me, as a sort of, _thank you_ present from the other goddesses. It's really nice, it really is, but-" She sighed. "Things got boring up here pretty quickly. I missed being around humans. I missed forming bonds with them, fighting alongside them, laughing with them. And tensions were growing, evil was ready to strike once again in the mortal world. So, in order to help out, I transferred my soul to be born as a human. I was born into nobility, but I had no prior knowledge of being the Goddess. After a series of trials that I endured, I realized who I was and gained my memories back."

I nodded. "So what happened after that?"

She smiled. "It'd be better to show you." She stood up, and took a few steps until she was overlooking the fountain. Then, she started singing.

It was a sweet melody, and her voice complemented it perfectly. Her voice seemed to drift through the air, residing within my head and giving me a sweet sense of calm. The birds seemed to stop chirping, as if they were listening also. The lyrics sounded familiar, despite being in a foreign language that I couldn't understand.

She finished, holding out the last note, letting it linger in the air for a little longer. At the center of the fountain, the bricks lifted up to reveal a hidden passage in the fountain.

The goddess smiled at me."Come with me. Watch your step."

I lifted my foot over the edge of the fountain and stepped in. The water wasn't cold or grimy like I expected it to be, but instead it was relatively warm and fresh. I sloshed after Hylia, before entering the narrow door. As we descended into the ground, the air seemed to be filled with energy, almost like it was buzzing in my ears. My right hand started to shake, and although I didn't know why I tried not to pay attention to it.

The passage opened up into a small room, and in the middle lay a large sword, with a long, blue hilt and a blade that shone as bright as the sun had outside. I could feel the intense energy of this room. There was no doubt the energy was coming from the sword itself.

"This is the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, the only thing that can destroy the spirit of the demon king. Although it can only be wielded by he who has the blood of the hero in his veins, the carrier of the triforce of courage." Hylia explained. She noticed the confused look I had given her and her face slipped from determination to laughter. "Princess, I think this would be easier if you had your memories back, would it not?"

"I don't know." I replied, scratching my head. "I would like my memories back, though."

She laughed again. "Alright," her arms raised towards me, "Here goes."

A surge of energy jolted me forward, and a flash of white came over my eyes.

I have a different internet alias, but for my fanfiction account I decided to go with a new one, (platinummantis? Where did that come from?) to keep myself completely anonymous. Seriously, I'm not even gonna give away my gender. Aren't I mysterious and edgy?

Seriously though, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I love Zelda and everything about it. I mean, just today I probably dumped seven hours straight into BoTW. And I had pizza. Living the good life. Also, a pretty unhealthy one.

But that's besides the point. I've been writing this story in my free time recently, and since I'm pretty happy with it so far, I decided that other people might like it too. So it's up now. I haven't picked a schedule or anything yet for posting chapters, but I have about 40 pages done for the story so far. I'm not sure how that'll translate into chapters, but it'll be fun nonetheless. This is also my first time using the site, so try to not pay attention to any technical mistakes. I also don't write very much, and I haven't even fully planned out my story, so if you notice any plot holes be sure to write me and say so. I'll try my hardest to fix them, right after I finish understanding how this website works. Sorry in advance!

With that out of the way, I'll be posting a chapter tomorrow. This prologue doesn't take place at the beginning of the story, though, so up until a certain (important) moment, our girl won't remember this chapter. I'm not sure of any other way to explain it, but I hope you'll understand.

Seeya!

-platinummantis


	2. Chapter 1

"Find him-"

"What?" I said, dazed. I couldn't see anything, and whenever I tried to turn my head, it felt like I was swimming through molasses. "Where am I?" I called out into my dark surroundings, hearing a ghostly echo reverberate back in my direction.

"We don't have much time. Find him. The Hero. You are Hyrule's last hope! Go!" The feminine voice called back at me. I felt the weird sensation of being spun around in a circle, it made me sick, and just as I was about to pass out, the world seemed to shatter around me, like thin glass. The darkness peeled away and the contrast burnt my eyes, pure light filling my vision.

In the distance, I saw a shadowy figure. It seemed to have a built figure, broad shoulders and a bit of a hunch in it's back. It turned to me, and it's eyes flashed a bright red, like flames dancing inside it's head. It roared, like an animal, and started bounding towards me. I turned to run, but I once again felt slow, like every muscle was a hundred pounds heavier and I was sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

It was no use. I tripped, and fell in slow motion towards what I thought was the ground, although I just continued to fall through. My stomach dropped as I started spinning again. I saw the monster leap after me, falling faster than I had, gaining on me. I was ready for it to tear me into shreds as I woke up in my bed, sweat soaking the back of my clothes and my pillowcase.

Breathing heavily, I sat up, and tried to massage my temples in an attempt to get rid of my burning headache. My right hand was glowing with the indication of a golden light, the triforce.

The golden triangle pulsed on the back of my hand, like a second heart. Well, significantly less gross than a second heart, but I digress. Anyway, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

"Shiiit…" I groaned, rubbing my hand. That wasn't exactly the most ladylike princess word to choose, but desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Usually the light fades away in a few seconds, but this time it felt different. I can't explain it, really. The triforce appeared whenever I was scared, or really sad, or even angry. I had gotten used to it, though, because I can't remember a time when I didn't have it. Every princess of Hyrule is born with it, but everyone assumes it's just something like a weird birthmark. I don't blame them, because when it's not acting up it just looks like faded and brown.

But whenever it glows, I feel smarter. Like nobody knows as much as I do, like they wouldn't make the choices I would. I feel like it enhances my reflexes, and I feel like I'm lighter and more agile. I haven't really gotten time to test my abilities, being in a castle most of my life. Also, the triforce only shows up at important times, and I couldn't trigger it like some sort of on switch to being able to perform better in high-school gym class. Which is a joke, by the way. I've never been to high-school gym class. I've never been to highschool. I've had like, really, really pristine homeschooling.

I hopped out of bed, and walked out into the upper halls of the castle. There were no guards out tonight, and even if there were, they usually don't patrol up here. I made my way to my father's room on my tiptoes, not making a sound.

I stopped before his door. Would he believe me if I told him about my dream? It didn't feel like a dream, it felt more like a vision. Whoever was calling out to me, that wasn't just in my head. It was almost, otherworldly, godlike even. If I told my father, he'd just send me back to my room and tell me that it was a bad dream and to go back to bed. He was a kind man, don't get me wrong, but nobody is an angel at 1:37 in the morning.

I turned away from his door quickly. I didn't need him telling me to go back to bed. I could figure this out on my own.

A wave of confidence overcame me as I flew back to my room, sliding the door closed behind me. But, as I stared into the darkness outside my window, looking past the silhouettes of trees and bushes, all of that confidence fizzled out, and a sick feeling took it's place as I realized the hopelessness of my situation. Find him? Him who? Who am I supposed to find? I had heard about the heroes of legend, who had saved this kingdom over and over again. I had read that whenever Hyrule was in danger, a new hero was reborn to take action and conquer evil, fighting against impossible odds and defeating the greatest monsters the world had ever heard of. But that was exactly the problem. Hyrule _wasn't_ in danger. At least, not that I know of. Was there something coming? Something here to tear apart our kingdom once again?

When I realized I was freaking myself out again, I flopped onto my bed, triforce pulsing more than it had been before. I needed to go, I thought. Where? I don't know. But I needed to leave, _now_.

I had the strangest feeling as I slipped on my workout sneakers and old hoodie and took off out the door. On one hand, I had no idea where I was going, yet on the other I felt like I knew exactly where I was going as I took random turns into different alleyway and roads. I ran through the city, watching the buildings of the city get less and less rich and clean as I moved farther away from the castle. That's how Castle Town worked. Aside from a few tall buildings on the outskirts, the poor lived far away from the castle and the rich lived close to it. Nobody had really ever complained, though, that was just the way things were.

I stopped when I came to an alleyway. It wasn't like someone was calling me towards it, but I decided to go in. I felt like it was the right thing to do.

In fact, it was, because as soon as I took a few steps in, I heard voices. I immediately ran and slid behind a dumpster to eavesdrop.

"Why'd you have to do that, man? I think you killed that guy!" Shrieked a voice. It was a low voice, yet it seemed to waver around, like it lacked confidence.

I heard another voice. "Have you ever heard of self defense? He would have killed you if I hadn't done something!" This voice was a bit higher, and gravely.

I peeked over my cover, to see a large, heavily built, dark skinned man leaned against a wall. Across from him was a Goron, whose rocky arms and round stomach seemed to shake with every breath. His yellowish-tinted skin seemed to contrast his beady, dark eyes.

"Seriously, Link would've-" The large man started again, before stopping. "Did you hear something?"

I tensed up and leaned against the wall, but it was no use as the man slowly came over to me. When he saw me, I screamed, but my terrified expression was mirrored in his face. He screamed also and fell backwards. I got up slowly and started to back away.

The Goron looked down at him, startled, and then looked up at me. His wide face contorted into a confused expression.

"Who are you?" He asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off when somebody else walked through the alleyway behind him.

"Keep it down, willya?" He said, angrily. "What are you two shitheads doing any-" He froze when he saw me.

Now that he was closer to me, I could see his features better. He was Hylian, with blue eyes, not unlike me, but they seemed to look deep into my soul, yet were somehow warm and comforting at the same time. He had a lot of dirty blond hair that hung an inch or so above his eyebrows, and was parted off in the middle. He was built, with broad shoulders, although not as much as the other guy was. He was good-looking, with sharp, elf-like facial features. He wore a dark green hoodie, with the hood up over his pointed ears.

"Who're you?" He asked, nervously.

"I'm-" I stuttered. I couldn't blow my cover, could I? If they hadn't recognized me, they must not pay attention to the castle or the royal family. Granted, I did look different in the middle of the night with an old grey hoodie, bedhead, and without makeup. Still, it didn't seem right. "Do I know you?" I said, avoiding his question.

He cocked his head to the side, almost like a dog would, and tried to speak. "I-I don't, I don't think so? Why are you here?"

"I just-" I was stunned by the sheer awkwardness of this conversation. "I don't know!"

I thought he would be angry, but instead, he just raised his shoulder and shrugged, letting out quick laugh. He shook his head and held out his hand. "I guess that settles it. I'm Link, by the way. Nice to meet you."

I smiled, and slowly reached out to shake his hand. But then, almost instantly, he grabbed it and threw me onto the ground, pinning me down with his arms.

Goddesses, was he strong. I tried to escape, but out of shock I wasn't able to find the strength. After a few moments, he lifted me up and pushed me against a wall.

"How much did you hear?" He leaned in close to me. "Who are you working for? Are you a spy?"

"Link! Dude, chill! She's just a little girl!" The Goron called to him.

Link didn't acknowledge him, and kept his hands on my shoulders. Really, he didn't need to do that. His icy glare was enough to keep me frozen.

"I-Seriously! I heard you guys talking so I came in here!" I croaked. I felt my triforce start to heat up again. Link seemed to notice too, his eyes widened and he immediately let go of me.

 _So he's scared of me?_ I thought. I held my glowing hand up to his face, in attempt to scare him away further, and did my best impression of an intimidating face.

For a second, I thought it worked, but I just watched him shudder. I lowered my arm, feeling bad all of a sudden. I shouldn't use my triforce against people, really. I stood there, unable to speak, before realizing he was holding his left hand. I couldn't see through his glove, but I thought I saw a faint glow emanating from it. I opened my mouth to speak, but he collapsed on the ground before I could say a word.

I looked at his limp body on the ground, suddenly becoming aware of my triforce burning. It felt like it was melting. A bright flash shot across my vision, and I fell to my knees, before collapsing next to him. The pavement was cold, but I felt like molten lava was shooting through my veins. I closed my eyes, finally unable to cling on to consciousness, and passed out.

 **A little bit of a lengthy chapter this time, but hey, if that's what it takes to get the ball rolling I'm all for it. Thanks for reading! The next chapter will go up either later today or tomorrow, depending on how many views this brings in. Remember to write me if you feel the need to, because I'll be reading every review I can. I'm sure they would really help, and if you have ideas or anything I'm totally up for reading them and thinking about adding them in! Thanks again!**

 **-platinummantis**


	3. Chapter 2

I was jolted awake as the car I was in hit a bump. I was slumped against the window, presumably sleeping. I looked at the clock on the car's stereo. 3:48.

You know when you wake up somewhere else and don't remember where you are for a second? Yeah, that's what happened to me. Except, I went from sleeping in a royal queen bed to sleeping on pavement and in an old car. Zero to one hundred. Real quick.

I pushed off the window, trying to right myself and stop the dizziness. I took in my surroundings, the tall man from earlier was in the driver's seat, next to him was the Goron, and Link was beside me, still unconscious. The Goron seemed to also be asleep.

"Ah. So you're awake, _princess_." The large man said slowly.

"Wait, I-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I know who you are, lady, even if these two don't. I'm sorry Link freaked out at you like that, we were all a little paranoid." He explained.

 _Especially you_ , I thought, thinking back to how he had screamed when he saw me. I didn't know whether to feel proud or offended about that. Probably a little bit of both.

I shook my head. "It's alright, I just-what were you doing out there?" I asked.

"I could easily ask you the same question, girl! Princess Zelda, out and about Tuesday night, one in the morning. I suppose you had some business to attend to?" He looked at me through the mirror, looking at me with dark eyes.

I laughed. "More or less, yeah."

We drove in silence for a few minutes. The Goron didn't wake up, neither did Link, and I caught myself staring at him, before forcing myself to look away.

It felt like I knew him. Like I've talked to him before, like we've been friends my whole life. I knew nothing about him, yet at the same time I felt like I knew him as well as he knew himself. It was the weirdest feeling, and I would've probably thought about it for a whole year straight if the man hadn't asked me where I was getting off.

"What?" I said, a little confused because I had been stuck in deep thought for a while. "Oh, yeah, sorry. You can just drop me off a few streets away from the castle, I made it out here myself, who says I can't walk two blocks."

He nodded in understanding, and started to pull over. "This is your stop, princess. Can I ask for an autograph?"

I was about to laugh, before realizing he was serious. "Oh, uh," I exclaimed awkwardly. "I don't exactly have a pen, or anything, really, I-" I started, but he tossed me a sharpie and a notepad.

I shook my head and signed my name, trying to keep a straight face. I don't exactly like this whole "celebrity" thing. I mean, everyone else worked for their fame, while I was just born into it. That doesn't seem fair, does it?

I decided to write my number down too, which got him a little hysterical.

"Calm down, big boy." I laughed. "It's for Link too. I-I need to talk to him."

He nodded quickly, and then hastily rolled the window down and peeled off, leaving me alone on the street.

Now, I don't exactly enjoy being _Fresh Princess of Hy-rule_ , but sometimes seeing people careen off because you gave them an autograph is pretty heartwarming. Speaking of heartwarming, it was pretty cold outside, so I took off back to the castle.

"Good morning, Princess!" shrieked a young voice from the side of my bed. I rolled over and pretended not to hear her.

After waiting for a response and not receiving one, Ashei went on. "You usually are awake at this time, Princess. Did you sleep well?"

I turned to her again, so our faces were only a few inches from each other. Ashei had dark blueish hair, that came down in bangs on her forehead. She was the closest thing I had to a little sister, but she was really just one of the castle's servants daughter, assigned with helping me out. She was a sweet girl, if not a bit annoying at times. She was just a kid though, probably eleven or twelve. I'm sure I wasn't a wonderful person at that age.

I smiled. "Ashei, what time is it?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

She giggled and slipped out her smartphone. "Nine-thirty. Don't you start schooling soon?"

"What?" I asked, before realizing I was drifting off to sleep again. "-Oh yeah. I do."

Ashei stared at me and shook her head. "I know I'm not supposed to be the boss of you or anything, but I don't think Impa would like you being late today, right? She can be a bit scary sometimes…" She looked at the floor, before looking back towards me. "Don't tell her I said that."

"She would be honored." I responded sarcastically. Ashei nodded and smiled as she left my room.

I had a quick shower and slipped on my casual clothes, not bothering to dress up. I walked to the private classroom, all the way across the castle, but when I checked the time I realized I was going to be late, and got into more of a run. I arrived only a few minutes before I was to start the class.

I pulled out my phone, thankful for the down time I finally had. I saw a few new messages from the guy I had given my number to yesterday, or rather, earlier this morning.

 _Hi_ it read. What a charmer.

I shook my head and texted back. _Hey. I still have some questions about last night, by the way. If you're willing to answer, that'd be great._

I watched my message send and almost immediately the bubble pop up for him. I smiled. This guy was _devoted_.

 _I have to ask Link. He's still asleep, as per usual. The kid would sleep for his whole life if he could._

I smiled. Before I could text back, he sent another message.

 _Here's his number. You probably want to talk about the glowy-triangles thing. I don't blame you._

I was happy I didn't have to be the one to bring Link up. _Okay, thanks._ I texted. _You saw that?_

 _Even if I was blind I would've seen it. That was one of the brightest things I've ever seen in my life. Also, you were leaning on top of him in the car. When you moved you woke up._

My heart skipped a beat. Did I really do that? I don't remember any of that, although my sleep was warm and peaceful. I had just suspected it was the triforce.

 _Cool._ I replied, blankly. _Talk to you later._

Before slipping my phone away, I sent a quick message to Link. A simple _Hey_ , I didn't want to be intimidating by immediately asking him about the thing that happened. I would get him to warm up to me first. I didn't get a response back, not that I was expecting one, but I was a little dismayed about it anyway. I shoved the emotion aside and put my phone into my bag, just as my tutor, Impa, walked out of the door.

Impa was a good person. Being one of the last surviving members of the Sheikah tribe, she was real and hard as steel, but nobody would expect her to have such a warm heart. She was middle aged, around fifty, tall and firm with a slight and sturdy build and white hair. She was in good shape, especially for her age, but wrinkles lined her cat-like face showing many years of hardship and experience. This made her wise, but she was funny too, in sort of a mocky, condescending way. She was the closest thing I had to a mother.

"Good morning, Zelda." She said to me firmly. It was refreshing for someone to call me by my real name, "Princess" could get old.

"Morning, Impa. I'm a little tired today, I didn't get much sleep last night, just a bad dream or something. It's okay though, I just wanted to warn you if I doze off or something." I replied.

"What kind of bad dream? Like, a nightmare?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Well, yeah. It was really nothing, Impa." I reassured her, but in reality I felt a little scared about it myself. I explained my dream to her.

She stopped our eye contact, and instead let her gaze wander, in sort of deep thought.

"You are seventeen, yes?" She asked. I nodded, not asking why she had asked such a random question, but trusting her.

She nodded and scrunched her face. "I suppose now is a good time to tell you. Come in, Princess Zelda, normal lessons are cancelled today. We have something much more important to talk about." She gestured me into the small room, and I walked in and sat down silently. She slid the door closed behind her gently, and my heart pounded.

"Where to start, where to start…" She mumbled as she slid a chair over to face me and sat down.

 _Wow, this day is just getting weirder and weirder_ I thought, closing my eyes.

"Ready?" Impa asked sincerely, but I swear I heard a touch of eagerness in her voice.

"Ready." I replied, nodding quickly.

 **Welp, it's up now. Thanks for reading! Remember to write me a review if you'd like to suggest anything.**

 **alright,** **seeya!**

-platinummantis


	4. Chapter 3

"I'm sure you're familiar with the legends of the Hero of Time, right?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. I nodded in reply.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Well, you should because I just taught you a history lesson about it a few months ago." She glared at me, but I could sense a smile in her slim lips.

"I mean, yeah, how could I forget?" I shrugged nervously.

She rolled her eyes. "That's the spirit. I guess I should remind you about it though. Alright.

"Hundreds of years ago, back when Hyrule was nothing but a bustling castle and open field, a demon lord rose from almost nowhere. His name was Ganondorf, he was the leader of the Gerudo, a tribe from the desert. His one evil intention was to find the triforce, and send the world under his despicable rule. However, the king somehow did not realize it, and let him roam freely through the castle. The princess had suspicions though, she saw what her father was unable to, the eternal darkness that rested in the Gerudo's soul. She met a young boy, who she shared her ideas with, and asked him to gain the three spiritual stones so they could open the Temple of Time and retrieve the triforce. The triforce grants anyone's wishes, it helps them live out their deepest desires. Their plan was to get to the triforce before Ganondorf could, so their pure hearts could keep the land in peace. Sadly, the young boy was unable to complete this task before Ganondorf striked. When the royal family least expected it, he attacked the castle, killing the king and burning it down, sending villagers fleeing from the intensity of the flames. The princess escaped with her bodyguard, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. For seven long, depressing years, Ganondorf had control over Hyrule. His final wish was to gather the three sides of the triforce, courage, wisdom, and power. You see, the triforce take their home within people chosen by the goddesses. When they die, the person in charge of the murder gains that piece of the triforce. It's brutal, but it's just the way things are. Ganondorf set out to collect all three pieces, one of which he already had. He possessed the triforce of power, making him the strongest and most dangerous man in the land. It didn't help that he had his whole army of minions on his side. When all hope was lost, the hero appeared, a boy dressed in green. He had been chosen by the gods to stand up against the demon lord, and he held within him the triforce of courage. He also wielded the Master Sword, a weapon that evil could not touch, for it would destroy them. Using his wits and strength, he rid the world of evil and awakened the seven sages, in order to finally destroy Ganondorf. In an epic final battle, Ganondorf had captured the princess, who had the triforce of wisdom. But the hero was stronger, he fought as hard as he could to defeat the demon king, and with the help of the princess and the six other sages, finally sealed him in the sacred realm. The kingdom returned to peace, the princess once again returned the the castle to rule the land, and the hero disappeared. That's how the legend goes, right?" She asked, startling me with the sudden change in tone.

"From what I've heard, yeah. What does this have to do with me, though?" I asked, confused. She smiled.

"I don't suppose you've seen that before, have you?" She waved her hand at my right hand, showing my triforce, faintly glowing. I pulled it back in towards me, examining it more intensely than usual. "The secret about the legend is that, believe it or not, it's actually true. But, there is a fact that is left out a lot. While the dark lord Ganondorf was being sealed away by the sages, the princess had to lose focus for a second, in order to help the wounded hero out. For if she didn't, he would die. He was willing to make the sacrifice, but the princess wasn't. She had to help him. Once the seal was complete, it was imperfect because of her actions. The spirit of Ganondorf, the dark lord, is able to gather his strength and break out, given long enough to prepare. Every thousand years or so, when evil comes to threaten our kingdom, the spirits of the hero and princess are reborn to fight the evil off once again. You, Zelda. You are the reincarnation of the Princess." She put her hand on mine.

I was frozen in my seat. "I-I can't-I can't be! I'm not special, I-I don't have powers! I'm not strong, or courageous, or-"

"You possess the triforce of wisdom. You will come to learn that. You will come to learn your place in this world. I had the feeling you were special ever since you were a baby, Zelda!" Impa explained, leaning in closer. "You have to believe me! That nightmare, or _vision_ you had last night. That was a sign…" She closed her eyes and sighed.

I was speechless. "So does that mean…"

She swallowed hard. "The spirit of evil, the dark lord Ganondorf has risen again."

My stomach dropped, I felt a pang of despair in my heart, like I was shot through the chest with an arrow made of pure evil. My mouth hung open, aghast.

"I-Impa," I stuttered, taking deep breaths in between my words. "Have you warned my father? We should get the guards protecting castle town, as soon as possible. If we can be ready for an attack, we should be able to take Ganondorf out before-"

"It won't be enough, Zelda! The fate of the kingdom now rests within your hands. You, and-" She took a deep breath.

"The hero?" I asked.

"The hero." She nodded slowly. "You need to find him. Find him. The hero. You are Hyrule's last hope. Before you go, though, do you have any idea who it might be?"

I smiled, feeling a weird sense of confidence all of a sudden. "I might know a guy."

A few hours later I'm sitting on my bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for a response from somebody I don't even know and trying to convince said person to save the world with me.

It's insane how fast a life can change here. In a matter of minutes I went from being the boring, pristine princess that never leaves her castle walls and spends her life in a book or on a phone, or in bed-Y'know what, scrap that last one, that didn't sound right.

What I'm trying to say is that I wasn't sure how I would be able to deal with the enormous weight all of a sudden slammed on my shoulders. I felt sick, dizzy even. Why did the gods have to choose me of all people? I'm probably the least qualified person to deal with this mess! Couldn't the goddesses pick a better princess? Did they draw my name from a _hat_?

As I freaked out over the hopelessness of my situation, I was relieved to feel my phone buzz.

 _who are you?_ the message read. Wow, he's even more charming than the last guy.

 _The girl from last night. My name is Zellie, sorry I didn't tell you yet. Nice to meet you._ I didn't want to scare him by saying who I really was just yet.

 _oh_ he replied, and it was a few moments before he started typing again. _sorry for shoving you into a wall and stuff, i thought you were a spy or something. i really shouldn't have acted like that, adrenaline just took over me._

 _I know how it feels._ I replied, smiling even though I knew he couldn't see me. Wow, I had really already forgotten about how he attacked me. Something about seeing him fall over limp had changed me. I kept thinking to myself that I should be mad about it, but I couldn't bring myself to.

When he replied _cool_ , I knew I had to take over the conversation, or else we would have stopped talking.

 _So_ , I typed, trying to figure out how to word this. _I'm going to come right out and ask about your left hand, if you don't mind._

 _that? it's just a birthmark. nothing special, really. my grandmother used to say it meant i was "destined for something special" or something like that. i didn't really believe her, though._

 _Why?_ I asked.

 _i wasn't destined for anything. i'm still not. i was just a farm boy, hanging out with my two or three friends living in the countryside. i moved to the city after my grandparents passed, trying to find a job. now i'm stuck here. i'm not complaining, though. it's hard to admit, but sometimes i find myself in bad situations and really wish i_ was _destined for something special._

"Well you're in luck." I said aloud to myself, grinning.

 _oh, sorry for spilling my whole life story on you, i just realized you didn't ask for it. i don't know why i'm telling you all this, you just seem really easy to talk to._

 _It was great, dude. Thanks, if that was a compliment._ I typed, grinning.

 _wait_

 _It was just a joke. Not a very funny one, though._

 _it was hilarious_

 _I can't tell if you're being serious or not._

 _ditto_

I shook my head, laughing. This guy better be ready for me to text him constantly now, because that was my plan for the next twelve hours.

 _what about you?_ He asked.

 _Just a small-town girl._ I lied.

 _livin in a lonely world_

 _Why are we signing Journey?_

 _why aren't we?_

 _Good point._ I typed, smiling. _Upper middle class, my mother died when I was young. I've been here my whole life, nothing extraordinary happens here._

 _so i'm guessing you haven't exactly had an experience like the one last night?_

 _Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that._

 _for some reason i trust you, so i'm gonna tell you. me and my boys were just hanging out at the milk bar, not even asking for drinks or anything. then this huge guy comes up to me, wasted as all hell and starts trashing on me, and even brings his ugly gang along with him. instead of standing up and fighting, we took off. we weren't up for a fight, then. but when they chased us into an open parking lot, we didn't have much of a choice. mido, the big guy who drove our car, got pinned up against a wall. i turned to help him, but darmani, the goron guy stepped in and just started wailing on the guy who had pinned him to the wall. and even worse, we're pretty sure he killed him! the gang took off and so did we when we heard police sirens. we were freaking out and hiding in that alleyway when you saw us. we were super paranoid, that's why mido fainted and i freaked out like that. i'm really sorry, that must've hurt bad._ He sent after a few minutes.

 _Just a few scrapes._ I replied, rubbing my shoulder where I had landed. In truth, it really had hurt, but I couldn't blame him.

 _you're pretty tough._

 _I like to tell myself that._

 _yeah. text you later i just heard something outside. probably just the neighbors again._

 _Seeya._

I put my phone down, slightly disappointed. On the bright side, he seemed to like me, so telling him about the hero thing wouldn't be as hard as I initially thought.

But what if he thought I was crazy? Talking to someone and starting conversations is easy enough, but explaining to them that they're the reincarnation of a legendary hero sought to bring down the demon king? That might be a little tricky.

I fell backwards onto my bed. It was gonna be a long day.

 **Thanks once again for reading! I know I say that a lot, but when your life is as boring and uneventful as mine there isn't much to put in an authors note. Whatever.**

 **I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far. Makes me so happy! Just remember to write a review if you can, they really help with the story. Seeya!**

 **-platinummantis**


	5. Chapter 4

I pulled out my earbuds to speak to my father. I had to raise my voice a little bit, I had realized the clanking footsteps of the soldiers echoed off of the castle's interior, making it hard to hear.

"Why are we setting up our defenses?" I asked. I knew the reason, but I was hoping this was because of something else.

"Well I'm sure you've heard, Zelda." He replied, keeping his arms crossed and his crystal-blue eyes focusing on the soldiers. "Impa has said Hyrule might be in a bit of danger. No need to fear, however. Our soldiers have been practicing non-stop lately, they will be ready for anything that crosses their path."

I leaned on the balcony railing, letting my hair dangle over the main hall and trying to believe his reassurance. I nodded to him, not saying a word. I wanted to believe him. Really, I did. But something wasn't right. The soldiers, as strong and loyal as they were, weren't ready for what was coming. Putting them out there just meant putting more of them in danger. But that's what soldiers are for, right? Protecting our people, no matter what the cost was.

I watched the soldiers march out for a little while longer before popping my earbuds back in and turning away. I didn't want to think about it.

For a castle with many different rooms and floors, I spend a surprising amount of my time in the kitchen.

The misconception about castle kitchens are that it's just a huge room with many stoves and pots and pans used for the master chef to prepare delicate meals every night. And yes, we have one of those, but the main kitchen just has a pantry with a lot of food in it.

Most of the time, I'm eating out of sheer boredom. You know how it is. I will say, though, it definitely doesn't help that we basically have any food on the planet in this room.

I shrugged and wrestled my phone out of my pocket. Still no reply from Link. Had he forgotten about me? I hoped not, that would just make this whole operation a lot harder than it already was. I stopped worrying after realizing that he might've just gone out with his friends or something. Guys are like that, replying to text messages usually isn't their top priority.

"Zelda…" Impa said quietly, opening the door to my room slowly. "Any luck yet?"

I sighed, and didn't turn to her, but instead kept my gaze out the window, letting the warm, blue sky fill my eyes. "Not yet. The guy I was texting, he…" I shook my head. "He hasn't replied in a few days."

She tried to be content, but I thought I saw a bit of anger in her eyes. "Have you tried contacting him again?"

"Quite a few times, actually. He seems to be really busy. It's just-" I turned to Impa. "Isn't the hero supposed to be pure and innocent and stuff? If he hasn't responded, he's probably just out with his buddies, drinking, screwing around, screwing… other things. He's probably forgotten about me!" I whined.

"Oh, Zelda." Impa replied, warmly. "Tales of the heroes of the past haven't been all sunshine and rainbows either. Before they were set on their path, there's been sources calling them lazy, or unfocused, unmotivated. The thing is, not even the reincarnation of the hero is going to be perfect. But, how do you even know this guy is for real?"

"I-I've seen his hand. I'm almost positive he had a triforce. When I asked him about it, he kinda avoided the question and moved on."

Impa's eyes got wide. "When was the last time you were out of the castle?"

I started sweating. "No, Impa, it's-really not important or anything, I just-"

She hushed me. "Zelda, do you know how _dangerous_ -"

"-Look, I was just out and got a little caught up on the road and met these guys who were hiding from the cops or something. There was a fight, like a gang war or something, and they killed someone in self defense or something. I wandered into their hiding place by accident and met this Link guy, and when he saw my triforce, I-" I stopped. "I dunno- _felt_ something. And he did too, he passed out holding his left wrist. I didn't really think anything about it at the time, but it seemed like we _connected_. Our triforces woke up, or something."

She stared at me, like she was still trying to process the information. After a while she spoke. "Well, it seems we have our guy. He even has the same name as the hero, that just makes it more clear. Listen, did you get a ride home or something?"

"Yeah, I did. Wednesday, early morning. Why?" I asked.

"We have databases of cars that drive near this street. Yeah, it's a bit overkill, and it's never been useful for anything, well, until now. We can track that car back to wherever it's parked, and-"

"We find him?" I cut her off.

"That's the idea." She replied, scratching her head. "I don't suppose an escort is the greatest thing, though. Maybe something a bit more personal."

"Personal? What do you mean?" I asked.

"You have a _motorcycle_?" I exclaimed, awed.

"And why wouldn't I?" She said, hopping on the front and gesturing me to follow.

"I dunno. I just never really thought that the Princess's bodyguard would have a, well-" I started motioning towards the motorcycle. It was big too, with wheels that seemed almost half my size, and a shiny, chrome finish. The seat was large enough for both of us, and I threw my leg up over the leather apprehensively as she revved the engine.

"Your father asked me if I needed a vehicle for my, uh, _duties_. I was pretty excited when I convinced him to get this. Neat, huh?" She asked, grinning and patting the handlebars.

"Wouldn't you rather have, like, a _car_?" I held onto her waist tightly, but I only felt more afraid than I was before. I'd never been on a motorcycle before, much less a huge, badass once that could flatten me if I slipped off the front of it.

Impa seemed to sense my fear and winked at me. "You need to get out more, Princess." Without another word, the engine roared and I was jerked backwards as Impa charged the thing out of it's garage.

After about five minutes of pure adrenaline, with the motorcycle tearing through streets and alleyways, almost knocking over pedestrians, I started to feel more comfortable. The sheer expertise of Impa, precise with her movements, she seemed to be having fun. And after a while, as the wind tore against my face, whipping my hair into a golden flurry, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I was having fun too.

 **Sorry for the short chapter! I'm feeling sick right now,** **and** **if I don't end up going to school tomorrow than expect to see another chapter posted midday. Thanks for reading!**

 **-platinummantis**


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